Folding boat



April 1962 LE ROY J. E. SINDELL 3,028,612

FOLDING BOAT Fil ed Nov. 20, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

LL AOYJ-ZS/NDELL April 10, 1962 LE ROY J. E. SINDELL Filed Nov. 20, 1957 FOLDING BOAT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIII;

' 4/ l I 6 Q l W l INVENTOR. 42 1 43 45 IPOYZAi SM/DELL I BY 1 7 45 April 10, 1962 LE ROY J. E. SINDELL 2 FOLDING BOAT Filed NOV. 20, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

L f POY TS/IVDELL ATTORNEY nite States 3,028,612 FGLDING BQAT Le Roy J. E. Sindell, 7 Ray Drive, Toms River, NJ. Filed Nov. 20, 1957, Ser. No. 697,629 4 Claims. (Cl. 9-2) This invention relates to a foldable or collapsible boat and more particularly to a foldable frame, which in its opened position is completely enclosed by a waterproof envelope to provide a comparatively strong boat.

The prior art already discloses various forms of foldable or collapsible boats. In one instance the boat may be collapsed and folded in half, providing a bulkypackage when folded, and, in its opened position, the boat is not well braced or locked and may collapse in use. In a still further example of the prior art, the folding boat folds by dropping or pivotally turning the ribs that run from the front to the back of the boat. In this instance the boat is dependent upon a central framepiece running the length of the boat and positioned approximately where the keel would be. In this device turnbuckles and rods are used to retain the framework in a spaced relation. This type of folding requires releasing of turnbuckles and releasing the rod attachments and, rather than a simple folding operation, it is a mechanical fitting and adjusting operation to open or close the boat.

It is an object of this invention to provide a foldable boat wherein all of the frame members are attached or pivotally connected, so that the boat frame may be readily expanded to its opened position, and by simple catch means locked in this opened position, and vice versa, by releasing said catches, may be easily folded into a small compact unit.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a foldable boat wherein a plurality of supporting plates are utilized to permit attaching the interconnecting framework to thus form a framework of a desired length, which may be locked in an opened position and which may be easily unlocked and folded into a small compact carrying unit.

A further object of this invention is to provide a foldable boat that is comprised of an interconnected framework and a waterproof envelope to cover said framework in its opened position and in which the framework is pivotally movable manually to be folded.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fold able boat comprised of an interconnected framework and a waterproof envelope to enclose said framework and in which the framework includes foldable floor panels which, in their opened position, provide a complete structural bottom for said boat.

A further object of this invention shall be apparent by reference to the accompanying detailed description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the foldable boat;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken in line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the framework partially folded;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the framework completely folded;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail taken in cross-section to show the connection between the center post and the bottom panel of said boat;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional detail, also enlarged, taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view, partially in crosssection, taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail taken on line 8-8 of HG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged detail of the center bar and lower gusset plate, as shown in FIG.,2;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG; 9;

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of a latch locking means;

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional detail showing the means of attaching the envelope;

FIG. 13 is a further embodiment illustrated as a plan view;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 14-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a still further embodiment illustrating a view of the bottom of said boat with two keel members; and

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view taken on line 16-16 of FIG. 15.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a foldable boat 11. Boat 11 is constructed with a framework 12 and a waterproof envelope 14. The framework 12 is comprised of a plurality of interconnected elements. Starting with the bottom of the boat there are four panels 15, 16, 17 and 18, the panels extending the full width of the boat and abutting with each other as shown. Panels 16 and 17 are joined at their abutting edges by a piano type hinge 20. The boat is also provided with two end panels 21 and 22. These panels also extend the full width of the boat. Panel 1 is joined to the abutting edge of panel 15 by a piano type hinge 23, while panel 22 is joined to the abutting edge of panel 18 by a piano type hinge 24. The abutting edges of panels 15 and 16 are also joined by a piano type hinge 25, however it is to be noted that this hinge is shorter than the width of said boat, likewise the abutting edges of panels 17 and 18 are joined by a piano type hinge 26 that is shorter than the width of said boat. It is also to be noted that the piano type hinges 23, and 24 are mounted on the inside surface of the panels while the piano type hinges 25 and 26 are mounted on the outside of said panels.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is apparent that the hinges will thus allow panels 21, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 22 to fold as shown and to be further folded into the completely folded or closed position shown in FIG. 4. The framework of the boat also includes three sets of gusset plates, 28, 29 and 30; these gusset plates are used as the attaching elements for the foldable ribs or struts.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 5, we may see how one pair of gusset plates 28 are mounted. The piano type hinge 2%) is provided with a center pin 31. The inner gusset plate 23 is provided with an aperture 32 to allow pin 31 to pass therethrough. The center bar 33 is also provided with an aperture 34 to allow the pin 31 to pass through, and the outside gusset plate 28 is positioned against bar 33 and a bolt 35 is passed through an aperture 36 in the gusset plate, and thrcadably secured in a bore 37 in the end of pin 31. To strengthen the mounting of bar 33 a rivet 38 may be passed through both gusset plates and the bar in spaced relation from bolt 35 as shown. With both sides of hinge 2t} aiiixed to similar gusset plates 28 and a similar center bar 33, the central structure is complete. The gusset plates 28 are also provided with apertures 40 and 41 to permit pivotally mounting struts 42 and 43. A rivet, pin or bolt may be used to provide this pivotal con nection.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, you may see how the other pairs of gusset plates 29 and 36 are mounted; these gusset plates are identical and therefore could be interchanged, and in describing the mounting of one pair of plates the other pair are the same. Referring to the pair of gusset plates 29, it is to be noted there is one gusset plate on each side of the gunwale. Taking the pair of plates 29, they are affixed to one end of a U shaped strut or channel 45, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, by means of a pair of rivets R. It is to be further noted that the struts 42 on either side are pivotally attacheda to the gusset plates 29, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Likewise a pair of struts 46, which form a portion of the gunwale of the boat, are pivotally attached to the plate 29 on either side of the boat, and the struts 46 at their opposite end are connected to struts 47 as shown in the upper portion of FIG. 9. This connection permits the struts 46 and 47 to move pivotally as shown in FIG.3, but they will abut as shown in FIG. 9 and cannot be moved upward. This limitation of the hinge is taken advantage of to provide a locking position for the center struts 33 on either side, as the upper end of strut 33 will abut with the ends of struts 46 and 47. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, there are two plates 49 and 50 of the same rectangular configuration, and they are fitted on either side of the struts 46 and 47 at their abutting edges. A pair of rivets 51 are provided, one rivet going through both plates and through strut 4-6, the other rivet going through both plates and strut 47. The upper edges of struts 46 and 47 are rounded in a 90 arc to provide clearance when the struts are pivotally moved as shown in FIG. 3. It is to be noted that the plate 59, instead of having an aperture for the rivets 51, is provided with a pair of elongated slots 52. The reason for the slots is to permit plate 56 to be moved upward as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10, to thus allow strut 33 to be moved from a loose position into an aligned position, as shown in FIG. 10. After strut 33 has been positioned, plate 50 may be pushed downward to thus lock strut 33 in the position as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. It is to be noted that strut 33 is provided with a cut out portion on one side to provide a shoulder 33A. This shoulder 33A is used only when struts 46 and 47 are jammed together and refuse to move upward, to assist in breaking this joint shoulder 33A may be used as shown by the dotted line with strut 33 moved against plate 53 and plate 56 resting on shoulder 33A. A slight downward pressure on the plate 49 and the jammed relation of struts 46 and 47 will break causing plate 56 to slide upward, thus opening the pivotal element to move strut 33 into the position as shown. It is also to be noted that the lower edges of struts 46 and 47 in FIG. 9 have been cut out as shown by the dotted line, so that strut 33 may be fitted into this opening and thus may be locked in position.

Referring back to the gusset plates 29, in a similar fashion the ends of U shaped struts 53 and 54 are pivotally attached to the gusset plates at either side of the boat. Of course, at the opposite end of the boat there will be a similar arrangement of U shaped struts 53A and 54A. In order that the end panels 21 and 22 will remain in a position as illustrated in FIG. 2, they must be locked with relation to the U shaped elements 54 and 54A respectively. Referring to FIG. 11, the panel 22 at its upper edge will lie adjacent to the U shaped element 54A. A pair of latch elements 56 are mounted one on either side of the panel 22 and are pivotally rctained to panel 22 by a rivet or bolt 57. The latch elements 56 are so shaped that each element is formed with an L shaped portion 58, so that in the position illustrated, it will abut with the inner side and lower edge of the U shaped element 54A. In this position, element 54A cannot be moved downward and the latches will thus retain element 54A in the respective relationship with panel 22. However, when it is desired to fold the boat, element 54A may be pulled upward or may be pushed outward to allow the latch 56 to be pivotally moved, removing the locking portion from its abutting relationship, and thus permitting elements 54 and 54A to drop downward as in FIG. 3, while panel 22 is folded inward as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 6, in FIG. 1 it is to be noted that the hinge 25 does not extend from one side of the boat to the other, but is cut back on either side. This is to permit positioning a locking bar 69 on each side of the hinge to lock panels and 16 in the position illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. Since the U shaped element 45 passes down and under the panels, as shown in FIG. 7, panels 15 and 16, moving downward, will abut with the surface of the channel 45 as shown in FIG. 6, and by mounting a pin 61 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the locking bar 60 may be pivotally retained, so that in the position illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8, the panels 15 and 16 will be locked as shown. When it is desired to fold the boat, the locking bar 60 is turned until it is in alignment with the channel 45, and of course in that position panels 15 and 16 can be moved upward. It is to be noted that panels 15 and 16 do not abut where the locking bar is positioned; rather, panels 15 and 16 only abut over the area where the piano type hinge 25 is mounted. In order that there will be no sharp edges at the bottom of the boat, since element 45 extends below the surface of the bottom of panels 15 and 16, it is desirable to mount a pair of Wedges 62 and 63, preferably mounted to the panels, so that in the opened position of the boat they will fill in and thus provide a better surface for the waterproof fabric to envelope without the chance of the fabric rubbing against a nonsupported area. In addition the wedges 62 and 63 provide abuttin edges for the channel 45 to retain it in position.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is apparent that when the boat has been folded the end panels 21 and 22-, bein loose,

would tend to flap or fall outward, thus a small rectangular holding or locking clamp 65 may be pivotally attached to the inner surface of the panels 15 and 18, so that when the end portions 21 and 22 are brought into juxtaposition the clamp may be turned so that one edge is over the edge of the panels to thus hold them in this position.

With the boat structure in an opened position, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a waterproof envelope that may be comprised of any waterproof fabric or a flexible plastic fabric is used to completely envelop the structure, referring to FIG. 12. The envelope is attached to the framework by passing the fabric around the outside of the struts 54, 46, 47, 54A, and it is looped over to the inside. The edge 66 may be provided with a plurality of eyelets 67. Likewise, an additional ply 68 of the fabric may be sewn or cemented to the inside surface of the fabric and also be provided with a plurality of eyelets 69. Thus a lace or cord C may be used to tie or lace the opposed eyelets 67 and 69, to thus retain the envelope in a laced relation, enclosing the complete framework. The envelope is in this manner attached to all gunwale struts. The envelope is also reinforced on its inner surface at each of the five hinges, and it is attached by means of a lace or cord C to the athwartship channel members 45 and 45A, beneath each of the four locking bars 60, as shown in FIG. 6.

It is apparent that with the boat in a fully opened position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in order that it may be folded, the following operations must first be performed. The four locking bars 60 must be turned to the aligning releasing position, and the four latches 56, one at each corner of the boat, must be released, and the center struts 33 must be released from their locked positions with relation to plates 49 and 50. The various struts will then fall into the folding relation as shown in FIG. 3, and will continue to fold into a compact unit as shown in FIG. 4. Of course, the clamps 65 are then used simply to retain panels 21 and 22 in their folded rela tionship. It is understood that the envelope being attached as shown in FIG. 3 will fold of its own accord about the structure when it is folded, and it is also conceivable that when the folding structure is again opened, the envelope will spread of its own accord to provide the complete enclosure of the framework as illustrated. The envelope may be mounted or laced to the boat and left in this relationship whether the boat is folded or opened. However, due to a spacing between eyelets 67 and 69, it is always possible to pull the envelope a little tighter when it is desirable to make a snug or tighter fit. With the framework in its opened position, locked, and the waterproof envelope snugly attached about the complete structure, this boat as designed will support four average men. Although this design utilizes two sections either side of center that are identical, the boat may be formed half again as long as shown by adding another pair of gusset plates 28 at one end and repeating the complete half of the boat, or the boat may be formed twice as long by repeating the gusset plates 28 at each end of the boat and adding equal sections at each end, and regardless of the number of sections added, the general folded package will be about the same in size, although slightly thicker because of the additional section. It is apparent that all operations in folding or unfolding this boat are simple manual operations, without need for any tools, and it is also apparent that the boat, although of a good size to carry an average of four men, is actually a very light package, easily carried by one man when folded.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, there is illustrated a still further embodiment of this invention, in which the end of the boat 11, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and of course it may be either end or both ends, is reformed to provide a pointed bow instead of the fiat end in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this embodiment, if we are changing the right end of the boat, panel 18 is reshaped as panel 18.4. as shown in FIG. 13,, otherwise it is hingedly connected exactly as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Likewise strut 54A must be bent into the configuration shown in FIG. 13, and its length may vary from the length as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this embodiment it is also necessary to form a small triangular panel 183, the base B of the triangle being attached to panel 18A by a piano type hinge, so that panel 183 can be folded inward on top of panel 18A. It is also necessary to attach a bow strut 22A. This is pivotally affixed to the panel 183 by a hinge H, the strut 22A extending from panel 18B to the gunwale of the boat and at the upper end of strut a notch or cut out C is provided so that strut 54A will fit into this notch and thus hold strut 22A in place. A latch L is simply a hook and eye mounted at the top of strut 22A to lock the strut to strut 54A.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, there is illustrated a further embodiment of this invention in which the boat 11 is shown in an upside down position in FIG. 15, and a pair of keels 72 and 73 are affixed to the bottom of the boat. They may be secured in various fashions, but in this instance the keels are provided with an eye 74 at either end and a strap 75 is attached to each eye. The strap 75 is in turn provided with a hook 76. v The hook is formed to fit over the gunwale of the boat, and the strap 75 may be an elastic, stretchable strap or it may be an adjustable strap, so that the keel members may be held in a tight fitting relationship. The keel members 72 and 73 may be formed of a reinforced strip of hard rubber or plastic, or any suitable material, to give greater stability to the elongated structure of the boat, and more particularly the keel elements react in the water to give greater stability for rowing, and in addition they protect the bottom of the boat, and especially the waterproof skin of the boat, from being damaged when the boat is beached. The keel members 72 and 73 are preferably curled or curved at either end to insure abutting with any object, rather than allowing the end of the boat to abut.

Various changes may be made to the structure of this boat, such as the general contour of the gusset plates, as long as the pivotal connections are provided, and although the ribs or U shaped struts have been described as U shaped they may be half round or any configuration that permits both ends to be pivotally connected as described, and although the struts mentioned throughout the description are presumably metal struts, they may be tubular, bar or channel in form, and may be of any material suitable to provide the structural strength, and

although the panels comprising the ends and flooring area of the bottom are generally rectangular in form, they may be squared or triangular without departing from the spirit of this invention, and the boat may be formed with a single or double bow, and although specific types of locking means are shown, other means of locking may be utilized without departing from the spirit of this invention, and this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A foldable boat comprising a plurality of accordion folding panels, each adjoining pair of panels connected by hinges to form the bottom and both ends, two pairs of gusset plates mounted in opposed relation and laterally spaced from each other and held in this spaced position by a pair of straight gunwale struts, a pair of pivotally mounted struts, each having two side arms and a flat base, each of said struts attached at their ends to one of said laterally spaced pair of gusset plates to form the gunwale struts at each end of the boat, a pair of center struts one at each side of the boat, each one of said straight gunwale struts pivotally attached at one end to said spaced gusset plates and their outer ends abutting with the upper ends of the center struts, another pair of struts formed with two side arms and a flat base forming angular braces to hold each end of the boat in its extended open position and two pair of straight struts forming braces between the bottom at the center of said boat and the gunwale at the spaced gusset plates, a third pair of gusset plates mounted at the center of the bottom on either side of said boat to pivotally support the ends of said last mentioned braces and the lower ends of the center struts, said pair of pivotally mounted struts 'each attached at their abutment with the panels by locking plates to join both ends of said boat.

2. In a device according to claim 1, in which the outer ends of said straight gunwale struts on each side are interconnected by a pair of locking plates, said interconnected straight gunwale struts foldable downward from an extended level gunwale position, and each of said center struts holding one of said locking plates in its extended level position.

3. In a device according to claim 1, in which the in terconnected bottom panels are mounted so that the hinge plates will abut in a horizontal position and allow movement toward a vertical, said interconnected panels provided with three hinges mounted on the inside of said bottom panels and two hinges mounted on the outside of said bottom panels to permit the folding of all panels into an accordion shaped relationship.

4. In a device according to claim 1, in which the interconnected bottom panels are mounted so that the hinge plates will abut in a horizontal position and allow 90 movement toward a vertical, said interconnected panels provided with three hinges mounted on the inside of said bottom panels and two hinges mounted on the outside of said bottom panels, and means provided on the inner surface of each pair of panels that are connected by an outside mounted hinge to hold said bottom panels in a horizontal relationship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

